As an English major, this course was a required prerequisite for most of my major courses. As you can imagine, I was relieved and very happy to be able to take it in an Honors section!
Though I’ve never been a huge fan of ancient literature, I enjoyed Dr. Smith’s lectures. They provided me with new ideas about books like Homer’s Iliad and Virgil’s Aeneid which made them far more interesting to read. Additionally, I discovered new ways to make connections between these literary works and issues of contemporary life. I was even able to draw parallels between these ancient works and more modern works. Now that the course is over, I can definitely appreciate its status as a requirement for all English majors. These stories serve as the foundations for so many future literary works and an understanding of them will be an asset to me as I read future works.
My favorite part of this class was definitely reading Voltaire’s Candide. I have always enjoyed satirical works of this nature and after reading a few chapters of it as a high school senior, I had hoped that I would have another opportunity to study it. Below, you can read an essay I wrote regarding the historical roots of the agnosticism found in the book.